Wells REO biplanes

[Kent Based]

Hello,

my first post here, hoping for a little help please..... Wells REO biplanes designed and built by R.F.Wells Co / Wells Aviation in their Chelsea factory around 1915 (?).

I'd like a little more detail please. How many of these were made and what were they used for? I'm guessing with lack of runway space in Chelsea (!) that final assembly took place on another site?

I'd normally be hitting the library or bookshops, but lockdown..... Thanks.

[megan]

Pity the Flight Global archive is still down as it may have elicited information. Only things I could find were this thread on another forum which mentions he had a War Ministry contract to build 100 Sopwiths but few if any were delivered. This link provides links to other details on Wells.

https://www.kenthistoryforum.com/index.php?topic=462.0

Photo of the gentleman standing on the wing.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/upchurch-village/18358074806/

[FlightlessParrot]

SNIP
Photo of the gentleman standing on the wing.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/upchurch-village/18358074806/

Can I ask what the aeroplane is in that photograph? It looks most like an SE 5(a) to my limited knowledge, but the Upchurch Village history site captions it as 1915, and Wells' contract was for 1 1/2 Strutters, which had rotary engines. Is a puzzlement.

[longer ron]

Hi FP
Looks like a DH9A.

rgds LR

[longer ron]

From 'Flight' march 1917,sorry difficult to read but original is not that good :)

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/800x592/flight_mar_17_bc81511997b48b505bf6aade3f21d364b52369e9.jpg

From the lovely Aviation Ancestry website

https://www.aviationancestry.co.uk


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/596x853/wells_1_9530d8e46f68c11123d3b2e1a8ea47e40aca2ca9.jpg

[longer ron]

From Aviastar

Built 50 Airco D.H.9s under contract to Waring and Gillow, plus 100 Sopwith 1 1/2-Strutters. In 1915 designed and built the Reo, a small single-seat biplane. Went into liquidation 1917, but production continued under Sir Samuel Waring.

[longer ron]

Hi Kent Based
Just One Aircraft completed as far as I know....
Wells REO Aircraft
From 'Flight' April 1915

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/661x377/flight_apr_15_3fce2552a0b55b057b6d91ff05fadcad5bbffdfa.jpg

[SMOKEON]

This link might be of use to you.
Wells Reo (http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft29015.htm)

[FlightlessParrot]

Hi FP
Looks like a DH9A.

rgds LR

Yes indeed, thank you--I'd missed that, only looking at pix of DH9. It makes the 1915 dating even less possible.

[MaximumPete]

If you do Facebook have a look at the groups: British Aircraft of Prototype/Experimental and Proposed Designs Only, Airliners from the past, Commercial Aircraft in Inter War Years and Aircraft Museums Worldwide. There's some great stuff here

[Kent Based]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the flood of replies! I can confirm that this query did originate from that Kent History Forum. Confirmation of that image from there as a DH9a is appreciated as it does indeed change the year for that photo!
The posted aviation article here is enlightening as it shows the aircraft model-making background R.F.Wells had.
I'm now curious as to whether that Wells REO biplane sucessfully flew. Also whether it was a unique design or a licensed copy of something else? (He did apply to licence build Benoist floatplanes).
I will try those other avenues suggested. Thank you.

[fauteuil volant]

I've been looking at a report of the Creditors' Meeting of Wells Aviation Co. Ltd. (The Aeroplane, 13 June 1917), as a result of which the company was put into Voluntary Liquidation, which mentions, when detailing its assets, that these included a 'deposit on account purchase Benoist boat £200'. Thus it appears that the company intended to acquire a Benoist flying boat (for which, according to the company publicity, it had acquired a production licence) but had not proceeded beyond paying a deposit on the purchase.

It's interesting, although probably entirely unconnected, that the careers of R.F.Wells and R.F.Mann (designer of the 1915 Mann & Grimmer M.1) evolved along similar lines in that a hobby of designing and flying model aeroplanes developed into a business of designing and constructing of military aeroplanes - and both appear to have been 'one hit wonders'! But maybe this was in the nature of things in those early days of aviation.

[Kent Based]

More great stuff! I was wondering what these powered model aircraft actually were? Rubber band powered, 5ft span and flights of up to 560 yards! Found this as a result.
(Sorry not allowed to post URL to Cyril Ridley and Reginald Mann competitions)

Back to R.F.Wells. The Aeroplane had him as pilot for the REO aircraft trial which hit another while taxiing. I'm wondering whether Wells would have needed some kind of pilots licence and where to look for records of that please?

[fauteuil volant]

I'm not a genealogist, but those who are seem to be able to access an online database of R.Ae.S Pilots' Certficates (q.v. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16921.0). I'm afraid that I don't know on which website this is to be found. But assuming that you can ascertain this, no doubt you can search to see if a certificate was issued to Wells.